By Zephyria 
The rest, long if long and short if short, came to an end. A handful of hot sunlight scorching the asphalt left his back completely soaked with sweat. If it was this bad in early June, then July would be…. Ha-jin shuddered as if he didn’t even want to imagine it.
Once the hill ended, the plains continued. The road was ambiguously rough, so they were back on the highway. Jeffrey stuck close to Park Chun-beom, who was holding up a parasol, trying not to fall behind, and Byeol was clinging to Eden’s back.
Zombies popped out from time to time during their travels, but it was a manageable level of threat. With some leeway, they even rummaged through abandoned vehicles on the road. However, aside from tissues and wet wipes, it was difficult to find anything useful. The group spent that night inside an empty express bus.
The next day, just like the day before, they moved early in the morning and walked non-stop until lunchtime. The forced march caused a blister to form on Ha-jin’s little toe, and Jeffrey had to lie down for 30 minutes to avoid the sun due to dehydration.
On another day, a horde of zombies attacked them on the road. They emerged from a gray Starex van, all wearing the same soccer uniform. While hastily fleeing into the mountains, Park Chun-beom twisted his ankle, preventing them from descending and forcing them to spend the night there.
And the day after that. The group climbed higher to avoid a wild boar they encountered on the mountainside.
After going through all sorts of twists and turns, they had been traveling empty-handed for four days, and the descent was made in two days.
They were out of clothes and socks to change into, and people’s nerves were frayed from not being able to wash for days. To make matters worse, it was drizzling. They put on raincoats, but the humidity made them feel even more uncomfortable.
Eden was about to pass by the rest area, which was sure to be swarming with zombies, but he was deeply troubled by the sight of his companions, who looked much more exhausted than he had anticipated. There was the ‘Jeongsan Chestnut Rest Area’ just 1km ahead.
“We’re almost out of water too.”
A worried voice stopped Eden. Turning around, he saw the faces of his companions, who looked quite exhausted.
“Should we stop by the rest area? We don’t know when the next rest area will be… We should go when we can.”
Mi-so cautiously suggested. Park Chun-beom, who was listening, added a word.
“We can go near it and come back if there are too many zombies.”
Park Chun-beom limped noticeably on his almost-healed ankle. It was an indirect expression of his desire to get at least one hiking stick from the rest area.
[Jeffrey, what do you think?]
[Why bother? It’s just going to be swarming with zombies, right? It’s obvious without even looking.]
Jeffrey was skeptical, as if he didn’t like the idea. Jeffrey, who had flown planes and been stranded on rough mountain slopes, acted as if these hardships were nothing. Of course, his physical strength was rapidly depleting, in contrast to his clear mind.
“Do Ha-jin, what about you?”
Ha-jin, who was the last to be asked, nodded.
“I’d like to go to the bathroom, if possible. My body is so itchy….”
He looked cleaner than anyone else, considering he hadn’t washed for days, but Ha-jin twisted his body uncomfortably. Moreover, the drizzle that had been falling little by little was gradually intensifying. 5 p.m. The dark clouds made the sky already dark.
“Everyone, fasten your raincoats tightly so you don’t get wet.”
Following Eden’s signal, they now walked in formation as they were used to. As they approached the large navy blue sign that read ‘Rest Area,’ the group moved even more diligently.
Except for the heavy rain, there was no noise. They entered the rest area, hiding as much as possible along the right-hand side of the road where the trees were dense.
Fortunately, there were very few vehicles parked in the parking lot. At most, there was one express bus and five passenger cars, and the size of the rest area was not very large. It seemed that everyone had hurriedly left to find their own way to survive after the incident.
“If we’re lucky, we might be able to spend the night here.”
Mi-so held her hand axe against her chest in preparation for a zombie attack. Her voice was somewhat excited.
“It’s too early to judge, let’s head to the accessible restroom first.”
Eden pointed to the restroom at the end of the building, closest to the group, and resumed walking.
❖ ❖ ❖
@Gold Spoon
[Ah, I’m alive!]
Jeffrey, who had finished a makeshift shower over the sink with Park Chun-beom, plopped down on the floor. Right next door, Mi-so and Byeol, who had finished showering in the two-stall accessible women’s restroom, joined the men.
It seemed that the electricity was cut off, and it was dark all around, but fortunately, there was plenty of water. The group secured their vision with flashlights and stood at the sink to do their accumulated hand laundry.
Ha-jin, who finished his laundry first, scanned beyond the restroom entrance. There was no sign of anyone, not even a trace of zombies.
“It’s strange that there isn’t even one zombie, don’t you think?”
He muttered to himself, shaking off his wet bangs. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu. The situation was unfolding similarly to when he had just escaped from the Atrium warehouse at dawn.
“It’s good if there aren’t any zombies or people. Don’t worry too much about it.”
Park Chun-beom replied in a cheerful voice, saying that there should be days like this. Perhaps he was quite upset about being chased by the zombie soccer youth team the other day, he even lay down on the bare floor of the restroom, saying that this was paradise.
Mi-so wrung the water out of the laundry so hard that it tore. She hung the laundry over the partition door and asked Jeffrey, who was sitting blankly.
“Jeffrey, what are you doing? Did you wash your socks?”
“Wear. Twice.”
“You’re going to wear them two more times?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s dirty! You’ve been wearing them for days! Stop talking back and wash them quickly!”
Friendly nagging went back and forth. A strange sense of stability that they had safely finished the march for the day was making the atmosphere soft.
“I saw earlier that there’s a convenience store right next door, should we raid it?”
Ha-jin suggested after thinking about it. Eden, who had been leaning against the wall, got up quickly, as if he had been thinking the same thing.
“I don’t think everyone needs to go, let’s have two people go first.”
“I’ll go.”
Mi-so raised her hand as if she had been waiting for it.
“Ha-jin and Jeong Tae-geon worked hard to get the car out last time. I’ll go this time.”
“Eung? If Unni goes, I want to go too!”
Byeol, who had been spinning his damp hair like a propeller, chimed in as if this was his chance.
“No. If Byeol is safely here, Unni can go and come back without worry.”
“But I want to be helpful too…?”
“I told you, you’re being helpful enough as it is.”
“No. I’m not doing anything!”
While Mi-so was trying to appease Byeol, who was trying to follow her, Ha-jin scanned the restroom scene. Jeffrey, who had been nagged, was busy washing his socks, and Park Chun-beom was massaging his ankle bone, as if his twisted leg was uncomfortable.
“Let’s just go by ourselves again this time.”
Ha-jin whispered to Jeong Tae-geon as if he couldn’t help it.
“Are you sure?”
“We can go and come back quickly while there are no zombies.”
“We can’t guarantee where they’ll pop out from.”
“Haa. If they appear, we’ll just… kill them, I guess.”
Having been doing this for over two weeks, the fear was gradually becoming dull. Ha-jin no longer panicked or froze when he faced zombies head-on. His heart still pounded as if it would burst, but if he just followed his instinct to survive, he could somehow get through the day safely.
Eden laughed out loud, as if he liked Ha-jin’s bold answer.
“Lead the way, then.”
The two left the restroom and skillfully surveyed their surroundings as they approached the glass door of the building. To get to the convenience store, they had to pass through the entrance to the food court, but the door, which they had expected to be open, wouldn’t budge for some reason.
“What is it.”
Ha-jin raised his hands above his eyebrows and pressed his face close to the glass door. He could see long tables and chairs lined up inside the dark building.
“It won’t open?”
“Yes. It seems like it’s locked from the inside…?”
That meant that someone was staying inside.
The raindrops were gradually getting heavier. As they stood under the short eaves of the building, Eden’s shoulder automatically brushed against his. Ha-jin reflexively pulled away.
Looking up slightly, Eden’s stiff lips were curved upwards for some reason. It was a smile that was quite refreshing for a sneer.
Eden at this moment was subtly different from Eden back then, when he had coldly refused to travel together. Ha-jin thought that perhaps he had not been able to judge Jeong Tae-geon objectively because it was a moment when he was driven to the extreme.
“If we break the door, the noise might attract zombies. How do we get in?”
“Let’s see if there’s another entrance.”
However, before they could move, the glass door shook violently from the inside with a thud!
“Wah!”
Ha-jin, who had unknowingly shouted loudly, hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands. Eden ignored the fussing Ha-jin and took out one of the flashlights he had put in his back pocket and turned it on, illuminating the inside.